Every year, millions of teenagers obtain a provisional driver's license or “learner's permit” and begin to drive for the first time. Many other adults who already have driving experience with small vehicles learn to drive commercial-class vehicles such as tractor-trailers or buses, or move from another country or climate and must learn to drive under unfamiliar traffic laws or weather conditions. Some new drivers may be elderly or urban drivers who never previously needed to drive but need to learn in response to a move or other change in life circumstances.
During the learning process, the driver may be accompanied by a parent or instructor in the passenger seat, instructing the driver, providing feedback, and warning about possible dangers. Traditional vehicles specialized for driver's education may have an additional brake pedal installed for the front passenger to allow a driving instructor to brake the car to prevent a collision. However, any other intervention to transfer control from the driver to the instructor requires the driver to park the car and trade seats with the instructor.
The risks of property damage or injury as a result of mistakes by drivers who are still learning can be mitigated by the use of autonomous navigation systems. Existing autonomous navigation systems automate parallel parking for drivers who might cause a collision if attempting to park between cars. Existing autonomous navigation systems also detect an unseen car in a blind spot and may take over control to prevent a lane change that would lead to a collision. However, existing autonomous systems do not react to a wide variety of other situations or dangers to which an autonomous navigation response might be preferable to continuing control by an inexperienced driver. Such systems also fail to incorporate educational components, inter alia, that might lead to the driver improving and better understanding the nature of a dangerous situation.